I could see the individual dust particles flying through the air as I gazed upon the old wooden door. It was broken in several places and I could hear my parents talk behind.

"I told you, we don't have that kind of money right now. Maybe if you just worked a little more we could afford it but right now we just can't," my mother said.

"I know, I know. But I can't work any more than I am already working," my father argued.

I sighed as I tightened my grip around the basket filled with the things I just bought from the grocer. With my free hand, I pushed open the wooden front door. The hinges squeaked as the door opened, sending a shiver down my spine as usual.

"Ivory, you're back!" my mother exclaimed, sounding excited. "Did you get everything I asked you to buy?" she asked, her voice filled with expectation.

"N-No..." I answered weakly. "T-The apples were too expensive," I said.

My mother pulled me into a hug while my father took the basket filled with groceries from me.

"Oh, don't worry sweet Ivy," my mother said as she patted me on the head, making me feel warm and at home.

I nodded. Eventually, she let go of me and I handed her the one copper that was leftover from my shopping. My mother looked at the coin with a certain hunger in her eyes.

"Now, would you run along and help out at the stables?" my mother said with a wide smile on her face.

I nodded.

"I'll be back later!" I said as I pushed open the door, which opened in both directions, and left the shack we were living in.

It was a run down and partially broken wooden construct, some of the wooden planks that made up the wall were held up by ropes tied around one end and then bound to a nearby tree while parts of the roof were covered with sheets of thin wooden boards that were nailed onto the original roof or other thin sheets of wood. While it wasn't as grand as any other house in the area it was certainly better than living in the stables where we would have to sleep on the hay that the horses used.

The warm summer breeze hit my face and I took a deep breath, smelling the forest around me clearly. I heard the singing of birds in the distance and I heard the leaves moving all around me. Our little shack was on the outskirts of the village, surrounded by trees and only connected to the village by an overgrown dirt path. Avoiding the many plants that hung over the path I walked towards the small village which was nestled in the middle of a forest, which in turn, was in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides with only a narrow ravine connecting it to the outside where the city of Calmaris was, a city I had never visited before. It was the place where the village shops got their supplies from and in turn we supplied them with horses since the village was home to a rich family that was very proficient in breeding horses. But that wasn't the family I helped out. I wasn't even allowed anywhere near their stables. I instead was stuck helping out the other stables where they kept the horses that the Malles family didn't see as good enough.

After walking for a while I finally reached the gravel path that led through the entire village. As I walked along it I noticed how the people living in the village proper looked at me, wrinkling their nose when I got too close, holding their children closer. All of them looked down on me for being poorer than them, even if none of them were all that good off either. But if they really needed someone to look down on for being poorer than they were then couldn't it at least be someone beside me? Why was I the one born into a poor family? Even though I loved them there were moments I resented my parents for being poor, moments when I wished I could look down on them as these people were looking down on me.

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I finally arrived at the stables where the keeper nodded towards the shovel that stood near the entrance. Already knowing what to do I began working. Shovelling shit with the shovel, the same thing I did every day.

I wish I could be rich... If I were rich I could pay people to do this... I hate always working... I want to play like all the other kids... But I always have to work and work and work and then work some more... all just so we can even continue living... why is the world so unfair? ... Why can't I have people working for me? Why do I have to be the one working for everyone else?

I tried my best to not start crying in the middle of the stables as I was shovelling shit. As usual, I was done around the time the sun began setting behind the mountain surrounding us. When I left the stable, covered with sweat and reeking even worse than when I arrived the stablekeeper handed me, three coppers, for my work and signalled for me to leave. I sighed and left, walking back down the gravel path, and once again ignoring the people that stared at me as if I was the dirt beneath their shoes, which was something I'd love to have... but shoes were too expensive so I just had cloth wrapped around my feet along with pieces of wood to give the whole construction some stability which made me walk weird and was the reason other kids often laughed at me.

I stepped onto the dirt path, once again avoiding all the plants that hung over it, just as I did every day. I had long since grown sick of it. Every day was the same, every day was just as miserable as the last! Eventually, I arrived back at the shack. Mom and dad weren't back yet, both were always working late. But there was someone in front of the door. A ragged looking man with long shaggy hair and a long shaggy beard.

"Ah, little girl! You must live here... I beg of you... I need something to drink," the man said, his voice even weaker than mine was during the worst of times.

I approached the dirty man carefully. He looked even poorer than me, having nothing to wear but a ragged pair of trousers that looked older than the man himself.

"Something to drink... ahem... let me see if we have any to spare," I said as I went past the man, not paying much attention to him.

That's when he grabbed my arm. His fingernails were unnaturally long.

"Please," he said.

I nodded and pushed open the door. As I went inside I felt his hand slide off my arm... cutting me with one of his fingernails.

"Ouch!" I said as I went to grab my arm.

Blood gushed forth from the wound at an unnatural rate and the man was

"I said that I need something to drink!" the man said loudly, his voice completely unrecognizable.

He grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up, his body now suddenly looking much stronger and far more muscular. With his lips pressed against the wound, I felt him sucking out the blood. It was strange and I began struggling and crying. I couldn't scream, even if I had wanted to his grip around my throat was too tight. His lips left the wound.

"Oh don't worry little one. This is an exchange! You grant me drink and I grant you strength! Now don't fight this!" the man said as he pressed his lips against my arm again, drinking more and more of my blood.

Eventually, he was done and dropped me back to the ground. I didn't even feel the pain. My entire body was numb and my vision became redder by the second as if a layer of blood was in front of my eyes.

"Now, be careful not to eat the wrong thing," the man said, laughter in his voice, as he left me behind, both hands in the pockets of his trousers.

I continued gasping for air as I looked up at the moon, reddened by whatever was in front of my eyes. It was full. A hunger began building in my stomach and my entire body felt like it was on fire. That's when I heard a scream. When I looked for the person that had screamed I saw two red figures, one on the ground the other standing above it.

"Wha... s... t...." the one standing said, its voice strangely warped.

I didn't know why but these two red dots looked delicious. As if on instinct I jumped towards them. That's when I only saw red. I ripped and tore at the red dots, ignoring their screams... no one came to help them anyway, so why stop? They couldn't be important anyway, right? When I ate the red dots my stomach felt full for the first time in forever. I had never eaten something this delicious in my entire life.

My stomach full I decided to go to sleep, laying down in our little shack.

I awoke the next morning, exhausted, still tired... and for some reason, I was covered in blood. Fear welled up inside me as I looked around, searching the small shack for my parents. They weren't here.

Maybe I overslept? They must already have gone to work! I should go too!

Quickly I ran over to the door. As I stepped outside I saw a gruesome sight. My parents, both dead, their bodies completely ripped apart. All that was left were their faces and bloody messes that had once been their bodies.

Then I remembered what happened last night, tears already streaming down my face. Those hadn't just been any red dots... those were my parents I ate.